Steam plant



J. RUTHS STEAM PLANT Original Filed Feb. 20. 1926 ggd/MMP Patented Jan. ze, 1929.

JOHANNES RUTHS, OF DJ'VURSHOLM, SWEDEN.

STEAM PLANE Application filed February, 20, 1926,A Serial No. 89,746. Renewed December 6, 1923.

steam plant; to take care of variable supplyl of heat to boilers and to maintain constant conditions in various parts of a plant.

By the present invention an accumulator can be built which is many times smaller and much less costly than the known steam accumulator of Variable pressure; boiler firing can be made entirely independent of consumption of steam orv hot water; hot water is always in reserve in any desired quantity at a given temperature; boilers can be run' with the best eiciency and yother advantages are obtained as will be apparent fromthe description following:

The presentl application is particularly concerned with an arrangement wherein a mixing of steam and cold water takes place in a.

small receptacle whereby hot water is produced and from which receptacle the hot water produced is conducted to a large aceumulator tank.

The various features of the invention will be apparent as the description proceeds which is to be takenin connection with the accompanying drawing showing more or less diagrammatically one form of my invention.

My invention is applicable to steam lantsV having any kind of boilers for pro ucing steam in any manner, designated in the drawing 'by reference character 10. The steam generated in the boilers 10 passes into the steam conduit 11 from which a part of the steam generated passes to a steam consumer 12. lThe remainder of the steam passes through conduit 14 to a small receptacle 13.

Flow through conduit 14 may be controlled by means such as a hand valve 8. To illustrate an alternate means of control, I have shown a by-pass conduit 9, extending around valve 8. Inserted in conduit 9 is an over-flow valve 15. This valve is controlled by the pressure in front ofthe same which in the case illustrated is the boiler pressure and also the 'supply pressure for consumerl 12. The valve 15 operates `to maintain aiconstant pressure inconduit l1 and allows the surplus of steam generated over what is used by the consumer 12 to pass into receptacle 13 where produced passes through conduit 21 to the accumulator tank A.

Various types of over-flow valve 'may be used.l I have illustrated the operation by showing a piston 22 actedl on one side by a spring 24 and on the otherby steam pressure acting through tube 31. When the pressure rises in front ofthe over-flow valve, the steam pressure preponderates over the resistance of spring 22 and valve 15 is caused to open more or less to allow more steam to ow through the same, thus restoring the pressure to normal. A valve 7 is shown in conduit 9 which may be shut when over-flow valve 15 is out of operation and valve 8 .orother means is used to control the flow of steam.

it is condensed by cold water supplied through' conduit 20 and from which the hot water A designates my novel heat accumulator which might be termed a constant pressure, variable water level accumulator, since it is a characteristic feature of this accumulator that in normal operation its pressure is maintained constant and the-water level in the same varies in accordance with the amount of heat stored in the same.

The accumulator may be made in a number of ways. As an example of one way of makingr the same I have shown a vertical cylin-. drical receptacle which 1s suitably supported in any desired manner. The acclu'nulator is vpreferably designed so that it can receive and store all the surplus steam regardless of the amount of the steam; that 1s, the accumulator should be designed sothat it can always receive and storethe difference between what is place, or where the heat to the boilers is supplied by waste gas so that no gas'. need be thrown away or so that manually cont-rolled boilers working in connection with waste heat boilers need not be iired too unevenly. l

Cold water is supplied through conduit 2Q and is sprayed into the steani space or upper partof receptacle 13 through the cold water spray device 19. The' amount of cold Water supplied through pipe is regulated so that a constant pressure is maintained in receptacle 13 and consequently the pressure in accumulator A isl constant or substantially constant. r1`h'e flow of cold water through conduit 20 is regulated by means of a cold water regulating valve 23, which is controlled by anactuating mechanism comprising a piston which isinfluenced on the one side by a long as the function remains substantially the i through feed conduit 33 by means of pumpsame.-

As steam enters receptacle 13 through charging device 1o, which comprises a series of nozzlesropening into the water space, the pressure increases a small amount. This increase of pressure is transmitted to `piston 25 which moves the disksof valve 23 upwardly, thus opening more or less the valve 23 allowing cold water in increased amount to en'- ter the upper part of receptacle 13 through spray device 19, thus condensing steam and lowering the pressure by the small increase causedby the supply of steam so that the pressure is returned .to its normal value. The arrangement thus maintains a practically constant pressure in the accumulator mixing device and the accumulator tank proper.

Hot water may be extracted from the accumulator for various purposes. For industrial purposes hot water may be Withdrawn through conduit 32 to consumers of any kind.

For boilerl feeding, hot water is extracted 34 and fed into the boiler, the amount being regulated inanv desired manner.

As will be obvious tothose conversant in the art to which this invention relates, various changes `may be made in the form and construction of parts'and arrangement of the same without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

I desire to point out that there are several advantages in having the mixture of cold water and steam take place in a small receptacle separate from the main accumulator in that there is danger in spraying cold water into any hot device due to the diderence in temperatures because there may be a lstrain on the.` device and this is liable to decrease the life of the device,.wliereas by causing the mixing to take place in a separate small receptacle, the danger which may exist is confined tothe smaller cheaper unit which can move A #readily andwith less cost be replaced than can a large accumulator tank, intliat the charging and spraying devices can be 'made smaller than if they are fdesigned `for effective operation .Within'the whole of the inner space of the accumulator tank, andy in that `tlie small unit can be better designed for more intimate mixing. A

Since there is a detinite'relation between pressure and temperature'of saturated steam,

the arrangement of my invention provides- Water of given constant temperature for consumption.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. ln` a steam plant, in combination, a

relatively small receptacle, a cold water spray device in said receptacle, a steam distributing device 1n said receptacle, means to supply surplus steam generated over momentary steam. demand to said receptacle through said steam distributing device, means to supply .cold water to said receptacle through said cold water spray device, automatic valve mechanism for controlling the supply of cold water in response to pressure in said receptacle, a relatively large laccumulator tank,-

means to conductwater-rom said receptacle to said accumulator tank, means to withdraw liot water from said accumulator tank at a rate corresponding to the rate-of demand for hot water, the difference between the hot water demand and the hot water `produced being retained in the accumulator tank.

2. ln a steam'plant, in combination, a relav-V tively small receptacle,a Cold water spray device in-said receptacle, a steam distributing device in said receptacle, means to supply surplus steam generated over momentary steam 'demand to said receptaclethrough said steam vdistributing device, means-to supply cold water to said receptaclethrough. said.

cold Water spray device, pressure responsive lll) means to control the cold Water supply, a relatively large accumulator tank, vmeans to con-v duct water from said receptacle to said ac-' cumulator tank, means to withdraw hot water from said accumulator tank at a rate corresponding to the rate of demand.l for hot water, the difference between the hot Water demand and the hot water produced being retained in the accumulator tank. 3. In a steam plant, in combination, a stea generator, a steam consumer,` a relatively erated to said receptacle through said steam distributing device, means to supply cold water to said receptacle, automatic pressure responsive means to regulate the amount of cold water supplied to maintain a constant pressure of the hot Water produced, means to `conduct hot water from said receptacle to said accumulator and means to Withdraw hot Water from said accumulator at a rate corresponding to the rate of demand for hot Water, the dierence between the hot Water 'demand and the hot Water produced being retained sponse to pressure in said receptacle, meansv to conduct hot Water from said receptacle to said accumulator and means to conduct hot Water from said accumulator to said steam generator.

5. In a steam plant, 1n combination, aY

steam boiler, a constant pressure variable Water level accumulator, a receptacle, a passage for steam from said boiler to said receptacle, valve mechanism in said passage op- @rat-ing to maintain a constant pressure in said boiler, means to supply cold Water to said receptacle to condense the steam thereto supplied and pressure responsive means operating to maintain constant pressure of hot 4 Water produced, means to conduct hot Water from said receptacle to said accumulator, a Y hot Water consumer and means to conduct hot -Water from said accumulator to said hot Water consumer.

6. In a steam plant, in combination, a constant pressure variable water level accumulator containing Water at different heights for different times, a receptacle, means to supply steam to said receptacle, means to supply cold Water to said receptacle to condense said steam and produce hot Water, means to conduct hot water from said receptacle to said accumulator, said accumulator being constructed and arranged to store the hot Water produced Vuntil there isa demand forhot Water and vmeans responsive to pressure in tlie" receptacle to control thevsupply of cold Water and operating to normally maintain a constant pressure in the accumulator.

7 .a In a steam plant, in combination, a constant pressure variable Water level accumulator, containing Water at dierent heights for dierent times, a receptacle, a steam charging device in the lower part of said receptacle, means to supply ,steamto said steam charging device, -means to supply cold ,Water to said receptacle to condense said steam and produce hot Water, means to conduct Water from said receptacle to said accumulator, said accumulator being constructed and arranged to store the hot Water produced until there is a demand for the hot Water and means responsive to they pressure in the receptacle' to control the supplyof cold Water and operating to maintain a constant pressure of hot Water produced. v

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto afxed my signature. i l

JoHANNEs Burns. 

